UMG’s vinyl recommendation and delivery service launches in the US

The Sound of Vinyl, a record store and delivery service created by Universal Music Group, is now available in the US. The service, which has been available in the UK and Australia for a couple years, features over 20,000 titles from every major label as well as indies.

As part of its US launch, the Sound of Vinyl is debuting a pretty ingenious discovery and delivery service that will give incumbent online record stores like Discogs a run for their money.

The setup is pretty simple: when you give Sound of Vinyl your mobile number, it will text you with a “taste profile” quiz to determine what kind of records you enjoy. Once completed, the service will send you daily texts with album recommendations, complete with artwork and pricing. You can text back “like” or “dislike” to improve the recommendations, or “yes” to purchase the album, which will then be delivered to you within five to seven business days.

You can also text Sound of Vinyl about albums you’re interested in, and if it has it in stock, it will text you back with an offer to purchase the album. It’s a smart move to simplify a process that may be complex for people who aren’t versed in vinyl, or who don’t have record stores in their area. All of the albums are new and sealed; in comparison, places like Discogs may have larger selections, but they sell used records which can be damaged.

You can still just go to Sound of Vinyl’s website online and purchase an album if you want to avoid the texting service, which will feature exclusive and limited edition vinyls as well as curated lists from musicians and producers, starting with Henry Rollins and Young Guru, Jay Z’s engineer and DJ.

Given the continued growth of vinyl and the ease of use around Sound of Vinyl, it would be more of a surprise if the service didn’t find a sustainable audience at this point. You can sign up for Sound of Vinyl’s recommendation engine today.